I received an e-mail from Midwest Supplies, asking me to come back. I have used them in the past but had since defaulted to my LHBS and Northern Brewer due to speed of shipping and overall customer service. Since Midwest wanted to give me 20% off, I thought why not, I’ll order supplies for a stout I want to brew before leaving on a week long trip. I ordered on October 15, and the e-mail showed the items would ship in 2 days. On October 16 I received an e-mail saying the shipment was delayed due to high demand (but did not provide a estimated ship date). On October 21 I still had not heard anything, so connected with Midwest Supplies customer service online (see below), and asked them to cancel the order as I would be traveling. My luck, it had just shipped that day.

Midwest Supplies Chat

The supplies did not arrive until October 27, despite the fact I had liquid yeast (London Ale) in the shipment. Needless to say, contrary to the initial e-mail solicitation, Midwest Supplies did not want to win my business back that bad (what is the old adage: actions speak louder than words).

I realize some may use Midwest Supplies with no issues, but I have now used them several times without success. The problem really lies in asking for someones business back, and responding in this way when there is an issue (the original e-mail and the customer service response by Midwest send opposing messages as to wanting me back as a customer). Maybe this is an isolated incident, but I’ll default back to who I habitually order my supplies with.

One more note, on October 21 I sent Midwest Supplies a Facebook message, letting them know about the issue. To date: no response.

I stand by Northern Brewer as an online homebrew supply option (the quick shipping and outstanding customer service sets them above). If you live in Northern Virginia, we have two very good LHBS here that I would recommend: Kettles and Grains and MyLHBS.